Adele Laeis Baldwin (1864 – 1927) was an American composer, contralto singer, and voice and speech teacher at the Institute of Musical Art.

Adele Laeis Baldwin
A white woman with dark hair in an updo, wearing a light-colored dress with a lace-embellished neckline
Adele Laeis Baldwin, from a 1927 publication
Born1864
St. Louis, Missouri, US
Died1927
Occupation(s)Composer, singer, voice teacher

Early life and education

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Laeis was born in St. Louis, Missouri,[1] the daughter of Felix Laeis and Theresa Laeis. Her father was a veteran of the American Civil War, born in Holland; her mother was born in Belgium. She studied voice with Achille Errani, Francesco Lamperti, and Anna de la Grange.[2]

Career

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Baldwin, a contralto,[3] performed with the New York Oratorio Society under Walter Damrosch,[4] the Handel and Haydn Society,[5] and Frank Damrosch's Musical Art Society choir.[6] She was also a church soloist,[7][8] and sang at private musicales.[9] "Her spirit and methods are at home in oratorio, and the larger arias were delivered by her with infinite sympathy and taste," noted on 1897 review. "Her diction deserves commendation, being unusually clear, impressive and refined."[4] In 1906, she another singer gave an impromptu concert while touring a hospital in Pennsylvania.[10]

Baldwin taught vocal technique in New York City, at her own studio in Carnegie Hall,[11] and at the private Finch School.[12] She was on the faculty of the Institute of Musical Art, precursor to the Juilliard School.[13][14][15] She was an authorized teacher of the Yersin method of French elocution, devised by Marie and Jeanne Yersin.[9][16] She was president of the National Association of Teachers of Singing.[17] She served as treasurer and director of the Musical Blue Book Corporation.[18][19]

Publications

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  • Laeis-Baldwin method of the production of speech-sounds (1916)[20]
  • Laeis-Baldwin method of practical phonetics for singers and speakers (1923)[21]

Personal life

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Laeis married Theodore Frelinghuysen Baldwin in 1887.[22][23] She died in 1927, in her sixties.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Personals". Musical Courier. 23 (20): 539. November 11, 1891.
  2. ^ "Musical notes: Mrs. Adele Laeis Baldwin". Musical Record and Review (471): 92. April 1901.
  3. ^ "Adele Laeis Baldwin in Scranton". Musical Courier. 50 (13): 18. March 29, 1905.
  4. ^ a b "The Messiah". Musical Courier. 34 (879): 27. 1897-01-06 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ "Mrs. Baldwin in Orange". Musical Courier. 41 (1078): 31. 1900-11-21 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ a b Damrosch, Frank. "Adele Laeis Baldwin" The Baton 6(7)(May 1927): 8.
  7. ^ "A Musical Treat". Bernardsville News. 1917-07-26. p. 7. Retrieved 2024-01-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Adele Laeis Baldwin's Success". Musical Courier. 30 (795): 22A. 1895-05-29 – via Internet Archive.
  9. ^ a b "Adele Laeis Baldwin". Musical Courier. 43 (1132): 21. 4 December 1901 – via Internet Archive.
  10. ^ "A Treat for Hospital Patients". Pottsville Republican. 1906-01-12. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-01-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Club Women of New York. Mail and Express Company. 1914. p. 181.
  12. ^ "Musical Days in Brookfield Centre". Musical Courier. 63 (8): 12. 23 August 1911 – via Internet Archive.
  13. ^ "Music Here and There". The New York Times. September 24, 1911. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
  14. ^ "Institute of Musical Art to Open Fourteenth Year". The Musical Leader. 36 (9): 198. August 29, 1918.
  15. ^ "Speaker Advocates Singing of English; Mrs. Adele Laeis Baldwin Predicts Beautiful English Songs". The Bridgeport Times and Evening Farmer. 1914-12-10. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-01-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Werner's Magazine. Edgar S. Werner. 1901. p. 972.
  17. ^ Baldwin, Adele Laeis (1919). "National Association of Teachers of Singing". Studies in Musical Education, History & Aesthetics. 14: 96–98.
  18. ^ "The Musical Blue Book of America (advertisement)". Musical Monitor. 4 (12): 537. August 1915.
  19. ^ Trapper, Emma Louise. The musical blue book of America, 1915- recording in concise form the activities of leading musicians and those actively and prominently identified with music in its various departments. Music - University of Toronto. New York, Musical blue book corporation. p. 257.
  20. ^ "Laeis-Baldwin method of the production of speech-sounds". HathiTrust. hdl:2027/uiuo.ark:/13960/t9189hr57. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
  21. ^ L. E. A. (1925). "Review of Practical Phonetics for Singers and Teachers". Le Maître Phonétique. 3 (40) (12): 27–28. ISSN 1016-832X. JSTOR 44748060.
  22. ^ "Society Affairs in Brief". The Evening World. 1887-11-21. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-01-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ Biographical and Genealogical History of the City of Newark and Essex County, New Jersey ... Lewis Publishing Company. 1898. p. 101.
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